The NYU Law School student and student bar association president who lost a job offer for praising this month’s Hamas attacks has doubled-down on her comments in a bombshell interview.
Ryna Workman – a 24-year-old who uses they/them pronouns – insisted they felt speaking out against Israel was a matter of standing up for ‘Palestinian human rights,’ even after facing fierce public outcry.
When asked if they would change anything about their statement to students that said the attacks ‘necessary’, Workman refused to budge, and hours later was spotted covering up Israeli hostage posters with stickers that advertised a school walkout.
They also declined to answer an inquiry about prospective feelings of sorrow for murdered Israelis – before reiterating how she still stands by her earlier pro-Hamas statements.
The next day, some 300 NYU students walked out of class for the same pro-Palestinian rally she had advertised, including Workman herself.
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Instead of walking back her comments, Ryna Workman – a 24-year-old who uses they/them pronouns – instead insisted they felt speaking out against Israel was a matter of standing up for ‘Palestinian human rights’
When asked if they would change anything about their statement to students that said the attacks ‘necessary’, Workman refused to budge, and hours later was spotted covering up Israeli hostage posters with stickers that advertised a school walkout.
The next day, some 300 NYU students walked out of class for the same pro-Palestinian rally she had advertised, including Workman herself
Held in Washington Square Park, several protestors were seen sporting anti-Semitic signage – attracting attention from a pro-Israeli demonstration that gathered at the same time.
Less than a day earlier, Workman – who previously wrote that Israel bears ‘full responsibility’ for this months attacks – told ABC News that they would refuse to condemn Hamas.
‘I will continue to speak up for Palestinian human rights and use whatever platform I have available to me to call for a ceasefire and end this occupation that’s harming the Palestinians,’ the non-binary law student said.
‘I think what I use my platform for, and who I condemn was pretty clear by my message,’ she added, after being asked whether she wanted to walk back her comments.
‘I think I will continue to condemn apartheid and military occupation.’
Being interviewed by ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis, Workman was then asked if she would ever denounce Hamas for their actions, to which she said: ‘I think what I use my platform for and who I condemn was pretty clear by my message.’
When questioned repeatedly if she or others should feel empathy for the more than 1,400 Israelis who have died, she deflected – saying instead: ‘I will continue to use my voice to uplift the voices of Palestinians and the struggles they’re going through.’
She, however, went on to add: ‘I think whether or not my empathy goes to Israelis or to Palestinians is really not the question here.
‘What the question is, is will we call for an end to this genocide and will we call for a cease fire?’
Just three days after the attacks by Hamas, Workman wrote a statement in the law school’s student bar association’s newsletter that laid blame for the current conflict entirely on Israel
The heated interview aired Tuesday evening – and shortly after Workman and another NYU law student were filmed obscuring posters of hostages in the Israel-Hamas war, before placing their own signs advertising a ‘National Student Walkout’ for Palestine
The footage, since circulated on X and Instagram, shows Workman in the same outfit that she appeared in while on-set at ABC’s studio
The heated interview aired Tuesday evening – and shortly after Workman and another NYU law student were filmed obscuring posters of hostages in the Israel-Hamas war, before placing their own signs advertising a ‘National Student Walkout’ for Palestine.
The footage, since circulated on X and Instagram, shows Workman in the same outfit that she appeared in while on-set at ABC’s studio.
At a point in the clip, the person filming the video confronts the two students, asking them to state their names for future viewers of the now viral snippet.
Workman, however, chooses to stay quiet, but continues to deface posters calling for the release of several Israeli children and seniors who are still being kept against their will by Hamas.
The next morning, as the signs had advertised, hundreds of students gathered for the protest specifically called for by Workman.
Dozens of Gen Z protesters were among the procession, seen waving pride flags and wearing kaffiyehs, demanding ‘freedom for Palestine’ – as well as a ‘divestment’ of Israel’s ‘genocidal regime’.
A woman who was recorded proudly displaying an overtly anti-Semitic sign suggesting the world needs to be ‘cleaned’ of Jews, while some students were heard shouting slurs, highlighting a concerning trend of hatred towards Jews in New York.
NYU spokesman John Beckman told DailyMail.com on Wednesday the school is was working to verify the identities of those sporting the anti-Semitic signage.
At the same protest, a young Jewish man was hounded by pro-Palestine supporters who refused to answer him when he asked whether they supported Hamas.
The next morning, as the signs had advertised, hundreds of students gathered for the protest specifically called for by Workman – including woman who was recorded proudly displaying a deeply anti-Semitic sign
‘Your 9/11 is their 24/7’ read another of the signs at the protest on Wednesday, which was attended by workman
The young female protester’s sign also read ‘f**k Israel’. She is yet to be identified
The school said it was working to verify the identity of the students with the offending signs
Another protester with the same sign at the protest in Manhattan on Wednesday
NYPD cops watch the protest in Washington Square Park on Wednesday
The students say they are demanding a ‘divestment’ of NYU funds from Israel
In the middle of the protest, a handful of young Jewish men sang and prayed in the face of the anti-Semitic signs
The young protesters screamed and chanted, and were led by Workman – who advertised the event on her social media.
Just three days after the attacks by Hamas, they wrote a statement in the law school’s student bar association’s newsletter that laid blame for the current conflict entirely on Israel.
The letter, which Workman signed as the president of the association, expressed full, undying support for the Palestinians.
It read: ‘This week, I want to express, first and foremost, my unwavering and absolute solidarity with Palestinians in their resistance against oppression toward liberation and self-determination.
‘Israel bears full responsibility for this tremendous loss of life,’ Workman went on to write. ‘This regime of state-sanctioned violence created the conditions that made resistance necessary.’
Immediately after, the Student Bar Association demanded that Workman be removed as its president – a process that will require multiple hearings to be completed.
Members also issued a statement saying that they did not ‘write, approve, or see’ any of Workman’s message before it was sent, and that Workman’s words did not represent the group’s opinion.
Workman – who uses they/them pronouns – advertised the event on her social media
The non-binary pupil now faces being removed from her post as the SBA – as the group revealed ‘multiple students’ have received ‘death threats’ as a consequence of Workman’s piece. (Pictured: NYU Student Services building)
![Of Wednesday's walkout, Workman on Tuesday said: 'I think this walkout is an opportunity for students to find their voice again. 'And to feel the collective power that their voice has when they walk out not only with the students at their institution... but with students across the [US]'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/27/04/76906885-12678559-Workman_criticized_NYU_for_stripping_them_of_their_bar_associati-a-11_1698378575646.jpg)
Of Wednesday’s walkout, Workman on Tuesday said: ‘I think this walkout is an opportunity for students to find their voice again. ‘And to feel the collective power that their voice has when they walk out not only with the students at their institution… but with students across the [US]’
The newsletter also saw Workman lose out on a job at Chicago’s prestigious Winston & Strawn law firm, which rescinded a job offer for the student only hours after the letter went live.
NYU law also released a statement in the wake of Workman’s letter – one that sought to make ‘several things abundantly clear on behalf of the NYU Law Board of Trustees and our Law School as a whole.’
It added: ‘We want to say, loud and clear, to our community: Any statement that does not recognize this brutality does not reflect the values of NYU Law.’
Of Wednesday’s walkout, Workman on Tuesday said: ‘I think this walkout is an opportunity for students to find their voice again.
‘And to feel the collective power that their voice has when they walk out not only with the students at their institution like we’ll be doing at NYU, but with students across the country.’
As of Thursday, Workman is still the head of the school’s Student Bar Association.